Iowa man wins $4.38 million lottery with a free ticket

Chuck Anderson, a 52-year-old man from Davenport, Iowa, has claimed a $4.38 million Lotto America jackpot, with a ticket he got for free from a lottery promotion.

He is not celebrating yet. He says: “I’m waiting until the money is deposited. I won’t believe it until it’s there.”

His winning ticket came from the Kwik Star convenience store at 2850 W. Locust St., Davenport.

This month, the Iowa Lottery is giving away free lotto plays in a promotion called “Lotto Surprise.” Random players receive free lotto plays when they buy tickets in a particular game.

During the first week of May, the qualifying purchase was a Powerball ticket and the free plays involved the Lotto America game. So Mr. Anderson’s jackpot-winning ticket in Lotto America was generated as a free play when he bought a Powerball ticket.

He matched all six numbers in Saturday’s Lotto America drawing: 8, 15, 18, 32, and 45, with Star Ball number 1.

Mr. Anderson said he didn’t check the results of his tickets for a couple days after Saturday’s drawing. When he saw the winning numbers on the lottery website, he said he didn’t believe it as first.

“I had to check them again,” he said with a laugh. “I had to look a couple times.”

Mr. Anderson said he is working with legal and financial advisors to make responsible decisions with his winnings, and he plans to invest the money for his future.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to help family and feel lucky to have won this prize,” he said. “As a family, we’re private people and don’t want to change who we are.”

Mr. Anderson chose to receive his prize as the lump-sum amount of about $2.6 million. Kwik Star will receive a $5000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the Lotto America jackpot-winning ticket at one of its stores.